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LLOYD 
GEORGE 



A Man 
of the 
People 



LLOYD GEORGE 

A MAN OF THE PEOPLE 



BY 



DAVID WILLIAMSON 




NEW YORK 
GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 



LLOYD GEORGE 



CHAPTER I 

David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of Great 
Britain, is a man of the people. That is why the 
people regard him as their champion. He first 
looked on life through the windows of a humble 
home in Manchester, and he has never forgotten 
those early days when his widowed mother had to 
use every penny to the best advantage of her young 
family. His father was a Welshman who came to 
England to work in Liverpool as a schoolmaster. 
His early death occurred when David Lloyd George 
was only two years old. 

A Story of his Childhood. 

The future Prime Minister was born fifty-four 
years ago. When he was only a year old, his life 
was in peril through a severe attack of croup. A 
doctor, Dr. George Griffith, was summoned to the 
little farmhouse where the child lay ill. Through 
a snowstorm the doctor hurried to the house, and 
had the joy of seeing his patient recover. "I never 
dreamt that in saving the life of that little child, as 



4 LLOYD GEORGE 

he lay unconscious in the wicker cradle on that farm 
hearth, I was saving the life of one of our national 
leaders," said Dr. Griffith recently. 

His Boyhood and Education. 

Mr. Lloyd George's mother, a Welsh-woman with 
an intense love of her native land, returned to the 
Welsh village of Llanystumdwy after the death of 
her husband. Her brother, Mr. Richard Lloyd, 
showed the most kindly interest in the family of 
little children and did all he could to secure a good 
education for them. This old uncle rejoices to-day 
in the high honours gained by his nephew, who has 
all through his busiest years kept up a constant cor- 
respondence with him. Mr. Lloyd's message of con- 
gratulation, when David Lloyd George became 
Prime Minister, was one of the first to reach him 
in London. 

Admirer of Lincoln and Garibaldi. 

The boy's education was gained in the village 
school, and his bright intelligence was increased by 
his uncle's intense interest in politics and the affairs 
of the day. Lloyd George was a great reader, and 
devoured histories and biographies with an eager- 
ness that soon exhausted the village supply. He 
had his heroes, and among them were Garibaldi, 
the saviour of Italy, and Abraham Lincoln, the 
bright star in the firmament of America's great men. 
Italy and her history have always possessed the deep- 



LLOYD GEORGE § 

est interest for Lloyd George and no one rejoiced 
more heartily than when Italy cast in her lot with 
the Allies in the summer of 191 5. As for Lincoln, 
he took the opportunity of sending a special message 
to the United States for "Lincoln Day" in 19 17. 
"To my mind," he wrote, "Abraham Lincoln was 
one of the very first of the world's statesmen." He 
continued, "I believe that the battle we have been 
fighting is at bottom the same battle which your coun- 
trymen fought under Lincoln's leadership more than 
fifty years ago." He struck the note which is char- 
acteristic of the whole trend of his thought — love 
of freedom. " 'Our armies,' said Lincoln, 'are min- 
isters of good, not of evil.' So do we believe. And 
through all the carnage and suffering and conflicting 
motives of the Civil War Lincoln held steadfastly 
to the belief that it was the freedom of the people 
to govern themselves which was the fundamental is- 
sue at stake. So do we to-day," said Mr. Lloyd 
George. "For when the people of Central Europe 
accept the peace which is offered them by the Allies, 
not only will the Allied peoples be free as they have 
never been before, but the German peoples, too, will 
find that in losing their dream of an Empire over 
others, they have found self-government for them- 
selves." 

Becomes a Lawyer. 

Lloyd George decided to become a lawyer, and, 
although he was only able to pay the fees of his 




MISS MEGAN LLOYD GEORGE AND A BRITISH SAILOR COMBINE TO 
HELP THE FRENCH FLAG DAY. 



LLOYD GEORGE 7 

training by living in the most frugal manner, he was 
at last successful and passed his examinations by 
the time he was twenty-one. 

A Defender of the Oppressed. 

It was soon after he was qualified as a solicitor 
that he attracted public notice by his action in a case 
which aroused much feeling in the neighbour- 
hood of his home in Wales. An old quarryman on 
his deathbed had begged his relatives to bury him 
in the grave where a beloved daughter had been 
buried. But the vicar would not allow this, and had 
a grave dug in a part where it was the custom to bury 
suicides. The villagers, in their just wrath, appealed 
to Mr. Lloyd George to help them. He found out 
that the grave was the property of the quarryman, 
and advised them to demand re-burial in his rightful 
grave. "But supposing the vicar will not open the 
gates?" asked the men. "Then," said Mr. Lloyd 
George, "break down the wall, force your way into 
the churchyard, and bury the quarryman by the side 
of his daughter." This was done, and, what was 
more important, the action was upheld in a court of 
law. Such a triumph gained fame for the young 
solicitor as a champion of the poor; and the incident 
was a foreshadowing of his whole future career. 

His Home Life in London. 

Having married a Welsh woman when he was 
twenty-five, he came up to London to carry on his 



8 LLOYD GEORGE 

work as a solicitor. He lived in a modest home on 
the outskirts of the metropolis, and there his chil- 
dren — two sons and three daughters — were brought 
up in simple ways. One daughter, greatly beloved, 
died some years ago. The two sons went into the 
Army at the beginning of the war. The elder son 
had made good progress in his profession as an 
engineer, but threw up his position when the call of 
his country came for volunteers. 

His Sons in the Army. 

Speaking of his sons, Mr. Lloyd George said: "I 
should have been sorry to ask a nice honest upright 
lad to risk his life for the greed of gain. I could 
not have done it — my two boys are in the new Army 
— two as nice boys as you will find anywhere." 
Gwilym and Richard Lloyd George joined the Royal 
Welsh Fusiliers, and their good service soon gained 
for them promotion. The elder is now a Major. 
Of the daughters, the younger is best known to the 
British public, for she has been a frequent companion 
of her famous father. Since the war, Mrs. Lloyd 
George and her daughters have worked hard on 
behalf of many charities. 

He enters Parliament. 

Stating briefly the public career of Mr. Lloyd 
George, one may add that he entered Parliament in 
1890, being elected Liberal Member for Carnar- 
von — the historic capital of Wales. He has been 



LLOYD GEORGE 9 

re-elected at each successive contest, with large ma- 
jorities. His long experience as a Member has 
helped his success, for the House of Commons' pro- 
cedure requires years of study in order that a man 
may become master of it. In these years the young 
Welshman was only eager to speak on behalf of the 
down-trodden or oppressed. He had the most in- 
tense admiration for Gladstone, and said the other 
day that in his political life he has sought to tread 
in the path which Gladstone hewed out. If there was 
any wrong done to the poor man, Mr. Lloyd George 
was quick to claim its redress. 

A Great Actor appreciates his Eloquence. 

After ten years as a Member, Mr. Lloyd George 
had gained confidence in his own powers, and began 
to take a more frequent part in debate. He crossed 
swords again and again with the redoubtable Joseph 
Chamberlain, and obtained several successes without 
making enemies of those whom he opposed. The 
Liberals began to see in him "a man with a future." 
A little story of Sir Henry Irving will show how 
the young politician was impressing people. Mr. 
Lloyd George was speaking in the great Free Trade 
Hall, Manchester, and was introduced to the audi- 
ence of 5,000 people as "a fiery young Welshman." 
It happened that Sir Henry Irving was acting in 
Manchester, and he entered the hall in the midst of 
the proceedings. The great actor stood just inside 
the doorway, close to the platform, and was abso- 




THE PRIME MINISTER'S TWO SOLDIER SONS. 



A photograph taken when both were Second Lieutenants. 
The elder is now a Major. 



LLOYD GEORGE n 

lutely fascinated by the speaker, hardly moving a 
muscle all the time the orator was speaking. When 
Mr. Lloyd George ended, Sir Henry Irving drew 
a long deep breath and muttered "Very fine! Very 
fine I" and returned to the theatre. By the way, Mr. 
Lloyd George is very fond of an occasional visit 
to the theatre, although this recreation has come to 
him late in life. 

A Cabinet Minister at Forty-two. 

The Liberals came into power in 1905. Sir Henry 
Campbell-Bannerman became Prime Minister, and 
without any hesitation invited Mr. Lloyd George to 
be a member of his Cabinet. The office he held 
was President of the Board of Trade, and his work 
was very important in connection with the commerce 
of the country. It was a great step forward — a Cabi- 
net Minister at the age of forty-two — but Mr. Lloyd 
George soon showed such high ability that Parlia- 
ment and the country acknowledged he was "the 
right man in the right place." He was tactful in the 
management of employers and employed, never for- 
getting the conditions under which the working men 
of Great Britain do their daily labour, and eager to 
help them in every possible way. He was very alert 
in picking up the manifold threads of a great State 
department, and in the House of Commons he won 
golden opinions by his able speeches. "During the 
time the right honourable gentleman has been at 
the Board of Trade," said one of his chief opponents, 



12 LLOYD GEORGE 

"the Opposition, on almost every occasion, has sup- 
ported and agreed with his proposals." 

Becomes Chancellor of Exchequer. 

When Mr. Asquith became Prime Minister in 
1908, on the grave illness of Sir Henry Campbell- 
Bannerman, Mr. Lloyd George was made Chan- 
cellor of the Exchequer. This was in 1908, and it 
meant that a man who was only forty-five, and had 
been in Parliament only eighteen years, now wielded 
the highest financial power in the country. How 
would he use his opportunity — this successor of Peel, 
Disraeli, Gladstone, and many other great states- 
men? The world had not long to wait for the an- 
swer. Mr. Lloyd George's first Budget made a sen- 
sation by its daring new ideas and its service to 
the cause of the poor. 

Helping the Poor. 

Old Age Pensions were instituted, T>y which any 
man or woman who had reached the age of seventy 
and had only a few shillings a week, was now entitled 
to 5$. weekly from the State. Hundreds of thou- 
sands of toil-worn citizens blessed the name of Lloyd 
George as, for the first time in their old age, they 
had enough to eat and enough to keep them from 
the poor-house. The money needed for this and 
other new developments was obtained by raising the 
taxation of property. Thus the rich were made to 
help the poor. The new taxes, of course, were un- 



LLOYD GEORGE 13 

popular, and made Mr. Lloyd George an object of 
attack in Parliament and the Press. But he stood 
firm, and the financial strength of Great Britain 
to-day is one of the results. 

The Great Insurance Act. 

Mr. Lloyd George's greatest achievement as 
Chancellor of the Exchequer was the National In- 
surance Act, by which all the workers in the country 
were insured by the State against illness and unem- 
ployment. That was a measure which again aroused 
strong feeling, but has proved of the highest value 
and has been imitated by other countries. Mr. Lloyd 
George had begun a campaign on behalf of the taxa- 
tion of land, hoping thereby to obtain for the coun- 
tryman an easier access to the land and a consequent 
increase of agriculture. 

"A Minister Given by the People" 

A subject which had engrossed his thoughts was 
the policy of his country towards Ireland. Mr. 
Lloyd George was a convinced Home Ruler and 
had an intense desire to see Ireland governing her- 
self. He took part in the important Conference at 
Buckingham Palace in the summer of 19 14, and dur- 
ing the progress of the war he made an earnest at- 
tempt to solve this old problem. All through his 
career you see his enthusiasm for the rights of small 
nations and his eagerness to benefit the people from 
whom he had sprung. As Dr. Johnson said of Wil- 



14 LLOYD GEORGE 

Ham Pitt, "He was a Minister given by the people 
to the King," and his lifelong ambition has been to 
serve the people, defend the weak, and defeat the 
oppressor. 

The War, which was casting its dark shadows in 
July, 1914, was certain to find new and strange tasks 
for Lloyd George, and fortunately he was ready for 
them, as the next chapter will show. 



CHAPTER II 

mr. lloyd george's work in wartime 

On the outbreak of war one of the greatest anxi- 
eties of the British Government was to secure the 
steadiness of the nation's finances. Mr. Lloyd 
George, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, acted with 
tremendous energy and speed. He called into con- 
ference his friend, Lord Reading, the Lord Chief 
Justice of England, who had an intimate knowledge 
of finance, and who for some months gave his whole 
time to the many problems that arose. The Chan- 
cellor was in hourly touch with the Governor of 
the Bank of England and the most responsible men 
in the City of London. Mr. Lloyd George surprised 
those who met him for the first time by the quickness 
with which he mastered the whole situation and the 
resourcefulness with which he suggested new meth- 
ods. 

Saving the Situation. 

Parliament was fortunately sitting when war came, 
and Mr. Lloyd George was therefore able to pro- 
pose and carry legislation which relieved the dangers 

15 



LLOYD GEORGE 17 

of the moment. The banks remained closed for four 
or five days, giving a breathing space which was 
very useful. Very soon it was decided to have a 
moratorium, which prevented anything in the nature 
of a panic. The Stock Exchange was closed for 
several weeks. Instead of gold, Treasury Notes for 
£1 and 105. were issued in millions. The Bank of 
England stood the extraordinary strain with tran- 
quillity, and gradually the Money Market was ad- 
justed to the new conditions of wartime. Every one 
in the financial world is ready to praise Mr. Lloyd 
George for the swift decisions which were taken and 
acted upon in those momentous days. Men who had 
opposed his Budgets with violent words about "the 
little lawyer from Wales" changed their opinion into 
enthusiastic eulogy of the Chancellor of the Ex- 
chequer. All this time, it must be added, he was at- 
tending daily meetings of the Cabinet and its War 
Committees. Only a very tough constitution could 
have lived through such anxious and laborious days. 

Averting the Danger. 

Speaking in November, 1.9 14, after the strain had 
lessened, Mr. Lloyd George described how British 
credit had survived: "What we had to consider 
was this : Supposing this machine had been left crum- 
pled and broken for the moment — out of repair; if 
you had left it for a month like that, what would 
have happened? What did happen? Mills were 
closed, factories were shut up, and thousands of peo- 



i 8 LLOYD GEORGE 

pie were thrown out of work. Look at the unem- 
ployment chart Look at what happened in the 
United States of America in 1907, on the failure of 
one or two banks. Credit was shaken, hundreds of 
thousands of people were thrown out of work, and 
the distress was unutterable. It is really not fair to 
represent that we are doing something to save a few 
people, when what we were doing was to save British 
industry, British commerce, British labour, and Brit- 
ish life. What happened? We had no time, and 
there were two things to be dealt with. The ex- 
changes had completely broken down. Business had 
come to an end, and the country that depended more 
on international trade than any other country in the 
world found international trade at a standstill. We 
were as completely isolated for the moment as if we 
had an alien fleet round our shores, because the 
exchanges had come to an end, and ships were being 
kept in harbour. We had, first of all, to consider 
what to do, and here the Government invited the 
assistance of men of very great experience in every 
walk of life and every department. We considered 
it a very great national emergency, and that the con- 
sequences of a false step might be very serious for 
the trade of this country." 

The "Silver Bullet/' 

The future historian will probably consider the 
methods by which this unparalleled crisis was safely 
overcome as one of the most striking events of the 



LLOYD GEORGE 19 

European War. At the beginning of the war Mr. 
Lloyd George coined the phrase "the silver bullet," 
referring to the importance of money in waging war. 
He has never wavered in the view that "men, money, 
and munitions" are the essential elements of success; 
and, curiously enough, he has had to do with provid- 
ing each of these elements. First, as Chancellor of 
the Exchequer, he gave all his energy to the money 
position. He acted in consort with eminent Minis- 
ters of Finance in the Allied countries, and paid sev- 
eral visits to France in connection with this aspect 
of the work. 

Becomes Minister of Munitions. 

When the need for an enormous increase of muni- 
tions was made known, Mr. Lloyd George volun- 
teered to take the new office of Minister of Muni- 
tions in June, 19 15. He organised with alertness 
and sagacity this entirely fresh department of State, 
calling some of the ablest manufacturers in Great 
Britain to his assistance. To-day there are about 
four million persons engaged in munition works, 
with the result that Great Britain has been able not 
only to increase her own supply of munitions to a 
stupendous extent, but has also come to the help of 
her Allies. Think what the creation of what might 
be called "the biggest business in the world" must 
have meant! When the Ministry of Munitions was 
in full working order — with its great factories which 
k are towns in themselves for size — -Lord Kitchener's 



20 LLOYD GEORGE 

death called Mr. Lloyd George to his third post in 
war-time. He was the country's choice for Secre- 
tary of State for War.- 

Succeeds Lord Kitchener as War Secretary. 

"I do not like war," he said in one of his speeches 
at this time, "but there is one thing about this war I 
like — we have entered into it with a perfectly clear 
conscience." And so this man, who had dared to 
take the unpopular side in the South African War 
and risked his life in uttering his opinions then, now 
entered the War Office as the head of the military 
machine. In following the greatest soldier of the 
day — Lord Kitchener — he faced many difficulties in 
organisation. But his buoyant courage was un- 
daunted, and it may even be said that fresh tasks 
were welcomed, so long as he could add to the effi- 
ciency of the nation. The great rally of volunteers to 
the New Army had now come to an end, and a new 
scheme for adding to the British Army was adopted. 

A Hater of Prussianism. 

Many changes were made under Mr. Lloyd 
George's regime, and he was frequently encouraging 
his countrymen to still greater efforts towards vic- 
tory. Impetuous he might be; impatient of delay 
he certainly was. But the mainspring of all his 
energy was a desire to secure a speedy triumph for 
the Allies in what he believed to be the cause of free- 
dom and righteousness. His whole soul loathed the 



LLOYD GEORGE 21 

Prussianism which considered Treaties of State as 
"scraps of paper" to be disregarded when incon- 
venient. His blood boiled as he — a son of a little 
nation — saw smaller nations invaded and devastated 
by a Power which ought to have been their guardian. 
And, with his entire life-record swayed by the ideal 
of freedom, he was determined to spare nothing in 
order to win the peace that rests on mutual trust. 

An Orator with the World for Audience. 

Again and again Lloyd George's trumpet notes 
of eloquence sounded all over the globe as he insisted 
on the justice of the Allies' cause in defending the 
innocent and weak. In hours of depression — and 
these are certain to arrive in every war — Lloyd 
George raised the spirits of the Allies by his noble 
speeches with their beating pulse of humanity which 
makes "the whole world kin." In France, Italy, 
Russia — indeed, all over Europe and in the United 
States, Lloyd George's orations have been at once in- 
spiring and informing. 

The Road Hog of Europe. 

One of his best speeches on the war was given in 
London in September, 19 14. He put the matter in 
this striking way: 

"The Prussian Junker is the road-hog of Europe. Small 
nationalities in his way are hurled to the roadside, bleeding 
and broken. Women and children are crushed under the 



22 LLOYD GEORGE 

wheels of his cruel car and Britain is ordered out of his 
road. All I can say is this: If the old British spirit is alive 
in British hearts, that bully will be torn from his seat. Were 
he to win, it would be the greatest catastrophe that has be- 
fallen democracy since the day of the Holy Alliance and its 
ascendancy. They think we cannot beat them. It will not 
be easy. It will be a long job; it will be a terrible war; but 
in the end we shall march through terror to triumph. We 
shall need all our qualities, and every quality that Britain 
and its people possess — prudence in council, daring in action, 
tenacity in purpose, courage in defeat, moderation in victory; 
in all things faith." 

No Delusions as to the War. 

It is well to remember that this speech was ut- 
tered after only six weeks of war, when many men 
were talking of the war being over by Christmas. 
Yet Mr. Lloyd George had no illusions. "It will be 
a long job; it will be a terrible war," he said, and 
his words have come true. It took real courage for 
a great statesman to say these solemn words of 
warning at a time when most of the British people 
were over-confident in their optimism. Although the 
speech contained this note of warning, its faith and 
hope rang like a silver trumpet through the 
country, and did much to hearten the millions who 
read the orator's words with eager interest. 

The phrase "road-hog" which Mr. Lloyd George 
used in this speech was a reference to the motorist 
who drove his sixty-horsepower car along the public 
roads at a furious pace, and cared nothing whether 



LLOYD GEORGE 23 

the innocent traveller was ridden over and killed. 
Sometimes, such a heartless driver was stopped after 
an accident had happened through his reckless- 
ness and pulled down from his car. That is 
what Mr. Lloyd George meant when he said, "That 
bully will be torn from his seat." The whole picture, 
as applied to the enemy's treatment of Europe, was 
a graphic symbol of the war. 



CHAPTER III 

LLOYD GEORGE AS PRIME MINISTER 

In December, 191 6, the Ministry of which Mr. 
Asquith had been the head for the last eight years, 
resigned office. The King sent for Mr. Lloyd George 
when it became obvious that only he could form a 
united Government. Within forty-eight hours Mr. 
Lloyd George had called to his banner a remarkably 
strong body of statesmen to serve under him as 
Prime Minister. There were in this new Ministry 
men representing every shade of opinion, united by 
the one purpose of bringing the war to a speedy and 
successful issue. 

A Remarkably Representative Government.* 

Mr. Balfour, a former Conservative Premier, be- 
came Foreign Secretary; Mr. Bonar Law, leader of 
the Conservative Party, took office as Chancellor of 
the Exchequer; Mr. Arthur Henderson, one of the 
trusted leaders of the Labour Party, and several 
other Labour representatives came into the Min- 
istry. Eminent Liberals sat side by side with col- 
leagues to whom they had been opposed in Parlia- 
ment all their lives. A small War Cabinet was ap- 

24 



LLOYD GEORGE 25 

pointed to meet "daily and hourly if necessary," to 
control the policy of the war. New life and vigour 
were poured into the departments of State, and 
the Prime Minister went far beyond the usual area 
of choice in selecting members of the Government. 
Great "captains of industry," like Sir Joseph Maclay, 
Lord Devonport, and Mr. Neville Chamberlain gave 
their services to their country. Nothing but the war 
and its active prosecution was allowed to be the domi- 
nant note. Mr. Lloyd George's extraordinary vital- 
ity and originality impressed everybody. From 
France, Russia, and Itay came messages expressing 
deep satisfaction at his becoming Premier. In the 
United States he had long been regarded as "the 
indispensable man," and his ascent to the highest 
office in Great Britain was watched in lively sym- 
pathy. 

His First Speech as Premier. 

On December 19th, 19 16, Mr. Lloyd George 
addressed the House of Commons for the first time 
as Prime Minister of the new Government. His 
throat had given him trouble, and his voice was not 
at its best. But the hushed attention of Parliament 
assisted him, and his speech was a success. Its words 
were soon winging their way to all parts of the world, 
creating profound depression in enemy countries and 
raising high hopes among the Allies. At the begin- 
ning of the speech Mr. Lloyd George quoted from 
Abraham Lincoln the words : 



LLOYD GEORGE 27 

' 'We accepted this War for an object, and a worthy ob- 
ject, and the War will end when that object is attained. 
Under God, I hope it will never end until that time.' " 

Mr. Lloyd George said "Prussia has been a bad 
neighbour, arrogant, threatening, bullying, litigious, 
shifting boundaries at her will, taking one fair field 
after another from weaker neighbours, and adding 
them to her domain with her belt ostentatiously full 
of weapons of offence, and ready at a moment's no- 
tice to use them." 

Prussia as a Bad Neighbour. 

That graphic description of the perpetual menace 
of Prussia was felt to be absolutely accurate by Italy 
and France, whose people have for many years ex- 
perienced the risks of Germany as "a bad neigh- 
bour." Mr. Lloyd George went on to say: "Now 
that this great war has been forced by the Prussian 
military leaders upon France, Russia, Italy, and our- 
selves, it would be folly, it would be cruel folly, not 
to see to it that this swashbuckling through the streets 
of Europe to the disturbance of all harmless and 
peaceful citizens should be dealt with now as an of- 
fence against the law of nations." On the subject 
of Great Britain's relations with her Allies, the Prime 
Minister said there were two desirable things — 
"unity of aim and unity of action." The first had 
been achieved. "Never have Allies worked in bet- 
ter harmony or more perfect accord than the Allies 



28 LLOYD GEORGE 

in this great struggle. There has been no friction 
and there has been no misunderstanding." Now 
there remained the need for complete unity of action. 
"The policy of a common front must be a reality." 
Mr. Lloyd George ended his great speech with a 
noble exhortation to secure "the rescue of mankind 
from the most overwhelming catastrophe that has 
ever yet menaced its well-being." 

First Official Visit is to Italy. 

A few days after completing his Government, Mr. 
Lloyd George went to Rome for an important Coun- 
cil between the Allies. He was received with the 
warmest of welcomes, and the Conference came to 
important decisions. On his return from Italy, Mr. 
Lloyd George spoke in London and said: — 

"I have just returned from a Council of War of the four 
great Allied countries upon whose shoulders most of the 
burden of this terrible war falls. I cannot give you the 
conclusions; there might be useful information in them for 
the enemy. There were no delusions as to the magnitude of 
our task; neither were there any doubts about the result. I 
think I could say what was the feeling of every man there. 
It was one of the most businesslike conferences that I ever 
attended. We faced the whole situation, probed it thor- 
oughly, looked the difficulties in the face, and made arrange- 
ments to deal with them — and we separated more confident 
than ever. All felt that if victory were difficult, defeat was 
impossible. There was no flinching, no wavering, no faint- 
heartedness, no infirmity of purpose." 



LLOYD GEORGE 29. 

Why the Peasants of France and Italy Fight. 

In the course of his speech, Mr. Lloyd George 
said: — 

"I passed through hundreds of miles of the beautiful lands 
of France and of Italy, and as I did so I asked myself this 
question, Why did the peasants leave by the million these 
sunny vineyards and cornfields in France— why did they 
quit these enchanting valleys, with their comfort and their 
security, their calm in Italy— in order to face the dreary 
and wild horrors of the battlefield? They did it for one 
purpose and one purpose only. They were not driven to the 
slaughter by kings. These are great democratic countries. 
No Government could have lasted 24 hours that had forced 
them into an abhorrent war. Of their own free will they 
embarked upon it, because they knew a fundamental issue 
had been raised which no country could have shirked with- 
out imperilling all that has been won in the centuries of the 
past and all that remains to be won in the ages of the future. 
That is why, as the war proceeds, and the German purpose 
becomes more manifest, the conviction has become deeper 
in the minds of these people that they must break their way 
through to victory in order to save Europe from unspeakable 
despotism. That was the spirit which animated the Allied 
Conference at Rome last week." 

The Welcome of Wales. 

It was natural that Wales should desire an early 
visit from her son who had left the little village 
nearly thirty years ago an obscure young man and 
who now returned to his native land as Britain s 



3 o LLOYD GEORGE 

Prime Minister. So a great meeting was held at Car- 
narvon on February 3rd, and politicians of all par- 
ties united in giving Mr. Lloyd George a splendid 
welcome. The day before the assembly, he had 
strolled through the village so familiar to him from 
boyhood and had greeted one after another of the 
friends of early days. In the Pavilion at Carnarvon 
there were about 5,000 people who showed the 
greatest pride and enthusiasm in their hero. His 
speech was a masterly survey of the situation, and its 
conclusion was coloured by the picturesque eloquence 
for which Lloyd George is famed. 

"Time is a hesitating and perplexed neutral," he 
said. "He has not yet decided on which side he 
is going to swing his terrible scythe. For the mo- 
ment that scythe is striking both sides with terrible 
havoc. The hour will come when it will be swung 
finally on one side or the other. Time is the dead- 
liest of all the neutral powers. Let us see that we 
enlist him among our Allies." Then with slow and 
impressive enunciation he concluded: 

"Winter Wheat is being Sown/' 

"There are rare epochs in the history of the world 
when in a few raging years the character, the destiny, 
of the whole race is determined for unknown ages. 
This is one. The winter wheat is being sown. It is 
better, it is surer, it is more bountiful in its harvest 
than when it is sown in the soft spring time. There 
are many storms to pass through, there are many 



LLOYD GEORGE 31 

frosts to endure, before the land brings forth its 
green promise. But let us not be weary in well- 
doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint 



not" 



"Through Terror to Triumph." 

With those words of faith" and inspiration we may 
well conclude this brief study of Lloyd George. The 
picture he left in the minds of all who heard him 
that day was one which could only have been drawn 
by a man who had watched the quiet forces of Na- 
ture. One thinks of the lad who spent his boyhood 
on a little Welsh farm, gathering strength and in- 
sight for the great task— "the most terrible responsi- 
bility that can fall upon the shoulders of any living 
man ;" To him now has come the opportunity of 
serving his country and of lifting the flag of freedom 
on behalf of the people in all the Allied lands. His 
whole career is a happy omen for the march of the 
Allies "through terror to triumph." 



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I ACCUSE! (j'accused 

An arraignment of Germany by a German o 

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THE RED CROSS IN FRANCE " 

By Granville Barker 

The popular playwright-author at his best ; delightfully intro- 
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WHEN BLOOD IS THEIR ARGUMENT 

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THE ROAD TO LIEGE By M. Gustave Somville 

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MY HOME IN THE FIELD OF HONOUR 

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